MA Program of Study

Upon completing nine hours of coursework students need to prepare a Program of Study and file it with the Graduate School. This document performs two functions.

First, the Program of Study indicates the faculty members who will serve on your graduate supervisory committee. Normally three political science faculty members are involved with one serving as your major professor. Your major professor and at least one of the other members of the committee should specialize in your major field of study. This major field representation is needed because the committee’s principle responsibility is to prepare and grade your written comprehensive exam on which two of the three questions are taken from your major field courses. Be sure to consult with faculty you wish to include on your committee in order to determine their willingness to serve. It is usually a good idea to consult with the Director of Graduate Studies at the beginning of this process. In any event, you will need the director’s signature in order to finalize this form.

The second function of the Program of Study is to indicate the courses you have completed and will be completing in order to obtain your degree. This requires you to think a couple of semesters into the future. The director can help you with this.

You will need to obtain signatures from all your committee members and from the program director. Before filing the Program of Study with the Graduate School be sure to make a copy and deliver it to either the program director or the department’s administrative assistant.